Losing Teeth
by Angela-Marie
Summary: The boys get a surprise visit from a creature that isn’t as generous as she appears to be. Wee!chesters, Sick!Sam and Protective!Dean
1. Chapter 1

**Losing Teeth **

**By Angela-Marie**

**Disclaimer: **Major props to Kripke for creating such an awesome show with such fun to abuse characters. But these characters are his, not mine.

Sam Winchester was six and a half years old when he lost his first tooth. John was away taking care of what he thought was most likely some sort of water demon in Michigan, so the boys had been left at Pastor Jim's.

It happened halfway through Sam's first bite of Macintosh apple, a delectable reward for finishing his entire roast beef sandwich, crusts and all. He was sitting in Pastor Jim's warm kitchen, absently wondering how his older brother sitting across from him could have possibly demolished his brownie dessert so quickly, when he felt a sudden pulling sensation in his mouth. When he opened his food filled mouth to ask Dean about the source of his problem, he felt a sudden rush of air along his gum. He realized immediately that the front tooth that had once occupied that space was now missing.

He reached into his mouth and pulled out the unchewed chunk of apple, trying to locate the tooth in question.

"Geez Sammy," Dean commented, noticing his brother for the first time after finishing his dessert, "if you didn't like apples so much you should've asked for a brownie like me."

"No Dean," Sam responded, staring in wonder at the white object protruding through the red skin of the apple, "I lost a tooth!"

As Sam turned to Dean and grinned, Dean observed the gaping hole in the front of his brother's mouth.

"About time, kid. I lost my first tooth when I was five. Does it hurt or anything?"

When Sam shook his head, Dean returned his brother's grin. "Good. Congrats kid. Now you're gonna look like a gap tooth geek until a new one grows in."

"I'm not a geek!" Declared Sam. "And losing a tooth is awesome because the Tooth Fairy comes at night and puts money under your pillow."

"Sammy," Dean sighed, feeling that same sense of resigned exasperation he felt whenever he was about to say something he knew Sam didn't want to hear. "You know that the Tooth Fairy isn't real. We talked about it the night you woke up and saw me in the living room putting up a Christmas stocking for you." He remembered suddenly what John had told him when he had asked why he didn't get Christmas presents under the tree like other kids. "All of those guys, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, they're all just stories that grown ups tell babies. And you don't wanna be a baby, do you?"

Before Sam could reply, Pastor Jim walked in. He immediately read the disappointment on Sam's face and, looking down at the chunk of apple in the boy's hand, saw the tooth sticking out of it. "Hey, Sam!" He exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. "You lost a tooth!"

"Yeah. It fell out when I was eating my apple" Sam absently removed the tooth from the apple, getting up to throw away the half eaten piece along with the rest of the apple.

"So now you can stick it under your pillow and the Tooth Fairy will give you money for it." Jim couldn't understand why the kid was so down. Surely he'd heard about the Tooth Fairy before.

"But the Tooth Fairy's not real." As Sam spoke, Jim looked over at Dean, who refused to make eye contact.

"Of course the Tooth Fairy's real. Who else do you think goes to your room in the middle of the night to put money under your pillow?" At this, Dean looked up and frowned disapprovingly at his elder. "What?" Jim winked at Dean, before turning back to Sam. "Look, Sam. Bring your tooth with you to bed tonight, and we can stay up all night together and wait for the Tooth Fairy. Now, if you could clear your place then you may be excused and you and Dean can go play outside until it gets dark."

Sam couldn't help but smile as he stood up to bring his plate to the sink. Even though Dean knew a lot of things, Pastor Jim was a grown up. And grown ups, of course, know everything. "Do you mean it? The Tooth Fairy's real?"

Jim felt immense pleasure in having cheered up the youngest Winchester so quickly. "Yup. The Tooth Fairy is really real."

Satisfied with his guardian's response, Sam pocketed his tooth and ran excitedly to the door, but paused when he realized that Dean hadn't risen to follow him. Dean seemed to be completely ignoring him, focusing instead on Jim, who was now pouring himself a glass of milk. "Come on, Dean. Let's go." Sam tried to keep his impatience to a minimum, but he'd been waiting all day for a chance to climb the full branches of the oak tree in Pastor Jim's backyard.

"You go ahead Sammy, I'll come out with you in just a minute." As Sam turned toward the door, Dean amended "but wait for me before you try to climb that tree."

Once Sam was gone, Dean stood up and walked over to Jim, who seemed to be chuckling to himself. "What are you doing telling Sammy that the Tooth Fairy is real? Now he's gonna be waiting up all night with you and he's gonna be tired and disappointed all day tomorrow."

Jim looked at Dean incredulously. "Come on Dean. How many times has Sam tried to sit up with me all night waiting for John only to fall asleep before midnight? It'll be easy. I'll just wait with him until he falls asleep, grab the tooth, and slip a dollar under the pillow. And Sam will be none the wiser and a dollar richer."

As Dean opened his mouth to argue, Jim continued. "Look, I know you don't like lying to Sam, but sometimes you just need to let him be a little kid. So let me do this one thing for him, okay?"

Dean thought for a moment before nodding reluctantly. "Okay. Just promise you won't tell Dad about it. He'll think you're babying Sammy too much and he'll just get mad."

"Of course not," Jim promised, as he watched Dean step outside to join his brother.

That night, as expected, Sam drifted off promptly at 11:45, only twenty minutes after his older brother had gotten bored with waiting and gone to his own room to sleep. At 11:48, after triple checking that Sam was fully asleep, Pastor Jim placed a crisp dollar bill under Sam's pillow. At 11:50, he stopped into Dean's room to affirm that the older brother was also sleeping. And by midnight, Jim had climbed into his own bed, wrapped himself in his covers, and congratulated himself on a job well done.

It wasn't until five in the morning that Jim woke and realized that he'd forgotten to take Sam's tooth. He figured that it was likely that Sam was still asleep, so he hurried into the smallest Winchester's room, relieved to find the child lying totally still in the bed. He reached carefully under the pillow and found the dollar easily. But further probing revealed no tooth. After a few moments, he gave up searching out of fear that any more time spent feeling under Sam's head would wake him. He decided that, if Sam asked why the tooth was still there, he'd tell him that the Tooth Fairy had too many teeth as it is and probably thought that the tooth would mean more to Sam than to her.

When Sam came into the kitchen the next morning, he had bags under his eyes, but his smile was victorious. Dean looked up from his cereal to find his little brother standing directly beside him, his broad grin emphasizing the glaring gap where his missing tooth had been the day before. "Guess what, Dean? Pastor Jim was right! The Tooth Fairy IS real!" Dean noticed that Sam had extended an open hand toward him, revealing two dollar bills. "Now I'm rich and I can buy all the ice cream I want!"

Dean laughed in spite of himself. "Sure Sammy. I bet if you show Pastor Jim the money you got he'll drive us downtown this afternoon and you can buy yourself some ice cream. And while you're at it, you can buy ME some ice cream too." As he spoke, Dean stuck out his own hand in an attempt to grab the money that Sam had acquired the night before. But in the final moment before he reached his prize, Sam's reflexes kicked in and the money returned safely to Sam's pocket.

"You wish!" Sam exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at his big brother and dashing out of the room before Dean had the chance to regroup and move in for another attack.

As it turned out, both of the boys ended up with ice creams and Sam didn't have to pay a cent. Sam informed Jim that he had been visited by the Tooth Fairy and had received two whole dollars. Smiling enthusiastically, Jim told the boy congratulations and waited for Sam to tell him that the Tooth Fairy hadn't taken the tooth. But Sam was less forthcoming about that particular piece of information, so Jim figured he'd let the kid keep the tooth, concluding that the Sam most likely wanted to save the tooth and could enjoy it as a keepsake. Then he told Sam that, after such a long night sitting up for the Tooth Fairy, he should be able to save his money. So Jim opened his own wallet and generously paid for each boy's sundae, even spending an extra thirty five cents so that Dean could have extra whipped cream.

Sam went to bed early that night because, despite his best efforts, he kept yawning and Dean insisted that he was way too overtired from having stayed up so late the night before. Dean came up to tuck his little brother in, grinning as he noticed one of Sammy's hands was curled up in a tight fist, with two dollar bills sticking out of it. As he pulled the covers up, Sam swatted him away with his free hand. "'m too big for you to tuck me in," he slurred, snuggling unconsciously into the cocoon that Dean had created for him.

Dean returned the gaze of his younger brother. "I'm not tucking you in, moron. I'm securing the bed to make sure that nothing evil comes in while you're sleeping." Despite his drowsiness, Sam sensed his brother's obvious discomfort at having been caught. He grinned.

"Whatever you say, Dean."

Dean turned to leave and was halfway through the door when he heard his brother's voice again. "Hey Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"Welcome, Sammy." Finally satisfied that Sam was too tired to continue the conversation, Dean left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Later that night, Pastor Jim woke with a start. Unsure as to why he had woken so abruptly, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. As he was sorting through his thoughts, he realized with confusion that had only given Sam one dollar, not two. He wondered whether he should wake Sam, confess the truth, and ask if he had any idea where the second bill had come from. After debating with himself for a few moments, however, he decided to let the child sleep, figuring that that an extra bill must have been stuck to the first one, so he'd given Sam two dollars without realizing it. It was several hours later that Jim finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Down the hall, Sam's own placid dreams turned to disturbing nightmares as the dark figure that hovered menacingly above his bed stroked his bangs back with mock affection before reaching hungrily toward his mouth, which was slightly open to allow for the soft breaths of sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Losing Teeth **

**By Angela-Marie**

**Chapter Two**

The next morning was Saturday. Dean, having built up the excitement for this day, rose with the sun so that he could catch the early cartoons that John never let him watch because he preferred insufferably dry news reports. As Dean entered the kitchen in search of the Lucky Charms cereal that he knew was only kept in the house when he and Sam were visiting, he was surprised to see Pastor Jim, who usually was up at a more reasonable time, dressed and loading several guns into an oversized duffel bag.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked, looking pointedly at the man who his father had appointed the boys' temporary guardian.

Jim stopped packing and approached the resolute Winchester, matching his young ward's gaze. "Hey Dean. I'm really sorry to do this to you. But I got an emergency call from Bobby, who needs help with a hunt. He's only a few hours away, though, so I promise I'll be back early tomorrow morning. If you should need me while I'm gone, you can leave me a message at Bobby's and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." As he finished he grimaced, half expecting Dean to pull a John and yell at him for shirking his duties.

"Don't worry about it," Dean said instead, immediately adopting his role as man of the house and smiling with a self assurance that Jim should have guessed that Dean possessed. "I can take care of Sammy while you're gone."

"I know you will, son. And don't forget to take care of yourself." Jim ruffled the kid's hair affectionately, but Dean ducked out under the older man's hand, the scowl on his face and his muttered "cut it out" indicating just how much he disliked the gesture. Grabbing the entire box of cereal, Dean went to the living room and Jim could hear the sounds of Saturday morning cartoons a few moments later. Smiling to himself, Jim headed out the door, knowing that he could rely on Dean to keep everything safe while he was away.

When Sam came downstairs much later that morning, Dean immediately knew something was wrong. The bags under his brother's eyes had only gotten larger and Sam wasn't smiling his usual obnoxious morning smile.

Before he could ask what was wrong, Sam spoke. "Hey Dean, I lost another tooth." Dean noticed the gap between Sam's left incisor and first molar along the bottom row of teeth even before the youngest Winchester had finished his sentence. "But look," Sam held out his hand with a feeble smile. "I got another dollar for it."

Dean was irritated that Jim hadn't told him that he'd been playing Tooth Fairy again. But his irritation quickly dissipated when he saw Sam swaying slightly where he stood. "Sammy," Dean frowned, getting up from his chair as he noticed that his little brother was shivering. "Are you okay?"

"Um," Sam wanted to tell his brother that he was feeling a little dizzy, but he didn't want to sound as weak as his dad always said he was. "I'm okay. Just tired."

Ignoring Sam's reassurances, Dean held up his hand to his brother's forehead, frowning a bit as he felt its warmth. "You've got a bit of a fever, kid. Why don't I take you upstairs and you can lie down and have a nap until you feel better."

Normally, Sam would have vehemently objected, informing his brother that only babies nap and that he was not a baby. Sam's lack of argument bothered Dean even more than the fever and the shivering.

Fighting off his sudden urge to call Bobby's house and beg Jim to come home, Dean ushered his baby brother upstairs. "You probably got sick because you've been staying up so late." Dean said this for his sake more than Sam's.

After Sam was settled into bed and piled high with blankets, Dean found the Children's Tylenol that Jim always kept in stock in the medicine cabinet of the guest bathroom. When he returned to Sam's room, his brother was already asleep. Dean couldn't help but grimace when he realized how white Sam's face looked in contrast to the dark bangs that had fallen over one of his closed eyes, save for the pink flush that brushed over each of his cheeks. But knowing that Sammy was always drawn out when he got colds, Dean told himself not to worry.

Sam was groggy when Dean shook him awake, but he gratefully accepted the pills and water that were offered to him. Satisfied that Sam was sufficiently comfortable, Dean turned to leave.

"Dean," he heard the small voice from underneath the mountain of blankets on the bed.

"Yeah bud?"

"You're the best." Dean smiled to himself before returning downstairs to the easy chair in the living room that was conveniently placed less than five feet from the cable television.

Sam slept for most of the day, but Dean was reassured that his fever did not seem to have risen. He woke Sam up at regular intervals, making sure to keep him hydrated and offering him Children's Tylenol every six hours. That night, Dean lugged the mattress from his own bedroom into Sammy's room, resolving to keep watch over his brother to make sure that the sickness didn't worsen overnight. He placed the shotgun, loaded with rocksalt, an old birthday gift that he slept with every night, on the floor next to his mattress.

Dean wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping before he woke up to the sound of moaning. He shot up instantly, looking over to his brother's bed. Fear coursed through his body as he realized that Sam was not the only one occupying the space. A dark, winged woman hovered mere inches above Sam. The being may have been beautiful once, but the coldness that emanated from her very presence suggested a form of evil that Dean and his family had been fighting for years.

The woman was completely oblivious to the older Winchester as she forcibly held Sam's mouth open and probed around inside with a grotesquely long, crooked finger. Instinctively, Dean reached for the shotgun beside him, confident that it was already loaded and ready to go, brought up to eye level, and fired. The woman grabbed her chest and shrieked in pain, falling instantly backward to the floor on the far side of the bed. Dean could hear what sounded like hundreds of beads scattering across the bedroom floor as the creature fell. Before Dean could rise to get another shot in, however, the woman took flight and escaped quickly out the window.

Dean was on his feet and hovering over the bed just moments after the woman disappeared. Sam was curled in on himself. His cheeks were flushed, his mouth slack, and his eyes scrunched tightly closed.

"Sammy."

No response.

"Sam, open your eyes!" As Dean called for his brother a second time, he shook him more roughly than he intended. This time, Sam groaned and his eyes cracked open. He gazed beyond Dean through glassy eyes.

"Wha's goin' on?" Sam's voice was thick and as he spoke his eyes started to close. The shaking persisted and Sam opened his eyes once again, determined to put a stop to whatever was keeping him awake. However, he was too exhausted to lift his arms. This lack of control frightened him and he felt a sudden unassailable panic rise up into his chest. His breath hitched and he was struggling to draw in even the most shallow breaths.

Dean saw the change in Sam's expression immediately and pushed down on each of his brother's shoulders, trying to calm the uncontrollable shudders. "Sam, you're okay. You have to breathe. Do you hear me? You need to calm down and breathe."

When his calls went unanswered his words became quieter, hoping that a more reassuring tone could appease the panic. "Sammy, please. I promise you, it's okay. Just, please Sammy, open your eyes and breathe."

This time when Sam opened his eyes they were slightly more focused and he seemed to see his older brother leaning over him, the worry apparent in his wide eyes. "Dean?"

Dean let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah bud. It's me."

"Don' feel so good. S'cold." Despite the overwhelming pull of sleep, Sam kept his eyes open, unwilling to lose sight of his protector.

"I know you don't feel good, kid. And I'm sorry. But I'm here now and I'm gonna see what I can do to get you better, okay?"

"'kay." Sam smiled sleepily despite his obvious discomfort. But as the youngest Winchester's eye slipped closed and his mouth curled up into the half grin, opening enough for Dean to peer inside, Dean realized with shock that there was a gap beside Sam's one remaining top front tooth that had definitely not been there before the boys had dropped off to sleep. He also observed with increasing concern a small pool of blood that had gathered along the base of the gap.

Grabbing a tissue from Sam's bedside table, Dean sat down on the bed with his brother. Sensing the weight change in the mattress and knowing that his big brother was so close by, Sam cracked his eyes open once again, peering curiously at the taller boy looking down at him. "Dean?" He asked again.

"Yeah, Sam. I'm gonna need to look inside your mouth. Can you relax for me?" Too tired to argue, Sam let his jaw drop. As Dean's left hand cupped the back of Sam's head for support while he probed the mouth, Sam unconsciously leaned into the touch, comforted at feeling Dean's close proximity.

Dean frowned as he studied the new gap between Sam's teeth. It only took a few dabs with the tissue to clear away the blood and Sam seemed to have stopped bleeding. Dean couldn't find a source for the blood other than the tender gums that were exposed as a result of the disappearing tooth. Common sense told him that the evil creature that had invaded Sam's mouth must have stolen the tooth, but he was at a total loss as to why. He also couldn't figure out what had brought on this sudden weakness in his younger brother who had seemed so healthy just two days ago.

Once finished with his examination, Dean released his hold on Sam's mouth and gently lowered his head back to the soft pillow. Sam, who had looked to Dean's eyes for comfort throughout the inspection, now closed his own eyes as he felt the soothing touch of his brother's hand sweeping across his forehead. Dean's worry increased, however, when he felt the startling heat of his brother's body. He knew high fevers were dangerous. And, without knowing the source of the sickness, he had no idea how he could possibly reverse his brother's situation.

"What am I supposed to do?" Dean asked, knowing full well that he wouldn't be receiving an answer. He was on his own.

Concern for Sam's driving fever overrode all other thoughts in Dean's mind. "Sammy?" Dean called softly to the sick child on the bed. "I'm going to leave you for a minute and go fill up the bathtub. We have to bring your fever down. But I'll be right back, okay?"

Despite his irrational need for Dean to stay by his side no matter what, Sam found himself faintly nodding, knowing that, if Dean thought leaving was a good idea, then it was for the best. He valiantly fought off the growing sense of dread as he felt his brother's weight leaving the mattress, hoping that his brother would hurry back to him.

As Dean headed toward the bedroom doorway, he suddenly felt crunching under his feet. He looked down and noticed a collection of small white teeth scattered across the floor. He glanced back toward Sam's bed and noticed a smaller collection of the teeth near Sam's pillow, on the opposite side of the bed from where he'd been sitting just a few moments earlier. He hadn't seen them right away because they blended in with the white sheets that covered the bed, standing out only as vague bumps against an otherwise smooth surface. And as he turned his gaze to his little brother, sleeping and completely oblivious to the mess of teeth beside him, he noticed with a nauseous horror that a single dollar bill was sticking out from under Sam's pillow.


End file.
